RARE CHILDHOOD PHOTOS OF SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR
XCLUSIVE COLLECTION
On day one of a match between Shardashram and St Xavier's in the Bombay inter-schools competition, coach Ramakant Achrekar watched with pride while his prized pupils Vinod Kambli and Sachin Tendulkar slaughtered the bowling. At close of play, Kambli was 182 not out, Sachin 192 not out. Next day, an important appointment prevented Achrekar from making it to the ground. And thanks to a mixup, his instruction to skipper Sachin to declare the inningsclose was not relayed
The result? A world record patnership of 664 for the third wicket ,with sachin undefeated on 326 and Kambli on 329 - and an entry in that bible of cricketers, Wisden.
Easy, upright stance. Beautifully balanced, with the weight evenly spread on both feet. Head still. Eyes straight.... Sachin was 14, when this picture was taken at the Wankhede Stadium, Bombay. And he was there because he had just become the youngest ever player to be picked for the Bombay Ranji Trophy team - no mean feat, given that the Bombay side at that time boasted no less than six Test players.
The elite of Bombay cricket gathered at the Wankhede Stadium for what was, after all, an ordinary Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat. What brought them there was a sense of history in the making - for it was here that a diminutive schoolboy, aged all of 14, was scheduled to make his debut in first class cricket, becoming in the process the youngest ever to turn out for the champion side. Watched by, among others, Sunil Gavaskar and Eknath Solkar (second and third from left), the five foot two inch schoolboy takes guard to the off-spin of Nisarg Patel. The first two balls are played forward in defense. The third - a flighted delivery on the off stump - is driven through cover for four. 129 balls later, his score reads 100, with 12 fours - the youngest centurion in this class of cricket, and that too on debut
Bat raised in acknowledgement of a century on Ranji Trophy debut. A calm gesture, this. Very assured. Very contained. A mere acknowledgement of applause. But then, for a boy who has made run-getting his mission in life, one century must be pretty much like any other, right? So what's to do cartwheels about?
Sachin is not ready to take strike - so, with an imperious gesture of the hand, he stops Pakistan pace ace Wasim Akram in his tracks. The ground, Karachi. The occasion, Sachin Tendulkar's Test debut. The date, November 1989. At the time, Sachin Tendulkar was 16 years old - and already rated by the international media as the star of the future. Note the body language - indicative, not of schoolboy shyness or even nerves, but of total calm, of absolute assurance... The body language of a player aware of his abilities, and glorying in them..
